More than five years after the fatal knife and gun attack on the sidelines of a Christmas market in Strasbourg, four suspected helpers are on trial. The attacker, an Islamist, was killed shortly after the crime.
Five people were killed and eleven others injured in the terrorist attack in Strasbourg in 2018 – the trial against four suspected aides to the attacker has now begun before a jury in Paris. The defendants are said to have helped procure weapons.
The main defendant is a friend of the perpetrator who is said to have helped him buy weapons over a long period of time. The 42-year-old says he thought the perpetrator was a simple criminal and knew nothing about his attack plans.
Defendants face long prison sentences
The Islamist Chérif Chekatt attacked people with a firearm and a large knife in the pre-Christmas hustle and bustle on the evening of December 11, 2018. He initially managed to escape in a taxi.
Two days later, after a major manhunt in the French-German border area, he was killed in a shootout with officers in the Neudorf district of Strasbourg. The terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Chekatt had sworn his loyalty to IS in a video. The recording was found on a USB stick in his apartment. The then 29-year-old was known to the authorities as an Islamist threat.
The French accused, who – like the attacker – have a petty criminal background, face long prison sentences. They are said to have arranged the purchase of the murder weapon on the day of the attack – but from the prosecution’s point of view, they knew nothing about the attack plans. Three defendants are at large under judicial supervision, but have been in custody for a long time.
Some men are said to have known nothing about the plans
At the start of the trial, the main suspect was the only defendant who had to sit in a specially secured area behind bulletproof glass. Also charged are two brothers, aged 37 and 39, and another 34-year-old man.
The trial with numerous co-plaintiffs, including the taxi driver Chekatts, is taking place under high security precautions. It is expected to last until April 4th.